Table talk

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, presented by American Express and Sysco, will feature food from more than 40 of Utah's top chefs at Solitude Mountain Resort on Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

The chefs will serve signature cuisine, with live music and the mountains providing a backdrop. This ninth annual fundraiser gives 100 percent of ticket sales to anti-hunger groups such as Utahns Against Hunger, the Utah Food Bank and Ogden's Community Action Program. Last year, the event raised more than $82,000.

General admission is $75 and reserved seating is $125 per person, if purchased before the event (800-453-3663 or www.tasteofnation-utah.org).

Beehive Cheese Co. of Uintah won first-, second- and third-place awards at the American Cheese Society Annual Cheese Competition in Chicago last week. A total of 1,149 cheeses were entered in the competition, representing 181 producers from 30 states and three Canadian provinces.

The company's Barely Buzzed  Espresso and Lavender Rubbed placed first in the flavored cheddar category for the second consecutive year. Bandaged Promontory with Cajun placed second in the cheddar flavored with pepper category, and Promontory Smoked with Walnut Shells and Apples placed third in the smoked cheeses open category made from cow's milk.

The American Cheese Society is a nonprofit trade organization that promotes farmstead and natural specialty cheeses.

Harmons Grocery Stores are celebrating 76 years in business with a summer food drive Aug. 4-17. Harmons will donate $1,000 to the Utah Food Bank and encourages the public to buy $10 Food for Families Bags, pre-filled with nonperishable food. The company hopes to exceed last year's donation of $7,790 in food donations.

During the two-week promotion, every store will give away 76 $10 gift cards and one $200 Harmon gift card. Other prizes include suite tickets to a Salt Lake City Bees game and the Rocky Mountain Raceway, and a year's supply of Coca-Cola products. There will also be a coloring contest for children, and free birthday cake and ice cream served on weekends from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sonic Drive-Ins are offering a new dessert, the Fried Ice Cream Blast, through August. It is a blend of vanilla soft-serve ice cream, caramel, cinnamon crisps and whipped topping (www.sonicdrivein.com).

The Grand America Hotel recently received a Gold Key Award from Meetings & Conventions magazine. Awards were given to 181 domestic and 14 international hotels and resorts, based on staff attitude, quality of meeting rooms, quality of guest services, food and beverage service, proficiency of handling reservations, availability of technical/support equipment and range of recreational facilities (www.mcmag.com).

Longboards ice cream bars, a popular item in Costa Vida restaurants, are now available at Albertsons, Associated Foods grocery stores (Harmon's, Macy's and Dan's) as well as the Murray Costco store. Made with local ingredients and fresh fruit purees, the bar flavors include chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry and mango.